Cook County moves closer to creating land bank

(Crain's) -- Cook County officials inched closer Tuesday to creating a land bank to deal with the area's glut of vacant homes.

The Cook County Board of Commissioners established an advisory committee to draft an implementation plan for the proposed land bank by November, according to Commissioner Bridget Gainer, who sponsored a resolution to create the panel, along with Board President Toni Preckwinkle. MarySue Barrett, president of the Metropolitan Planning Council, will chair the advisory committee.

The land bank would acquire distressed properties across municipal borders, then prepare the homes for sale or rent. The most dilapidated properties would be demolished and turned into public space or another use. The land bank would likely pick up properties left untouched after sheriff's sales and other auctions.

Ms. Gainer said previously that initial funding would possibly come from Illinois' share of the recent $25 billion national settlement between state governments and the country's largest loan servicers, as well as foundation grants and donations from other organizations. The advisory committee is charged with identifying revenue sources and drafting a preliminary budget for the land bank.

Illinois has one of the longest foreclosure processes in the U.S., with lenders now taking an average of 647 days to repossess a foreclosed home in the state, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc.

More than 6,000 vacant buildings were registered with the Chicago Department of Buildings as of May. South Side neighborhoods including Englewood and Auburn Gresham had the highest concentration of vacant buildings, mainly due to the foreclosure crisis.